Number of missing in mudslide drops to 15

SEATTLE — The number of people listed as missing after the deadly March 22 Washington state mudslide has dropped from 17 to 15 on the latest list provided by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials said that 44-year-old Victor Ford and an unidentified 50- to 60-year-old man added to the list Thursday have been removed.

Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said the unidentified man is the one already at the Snohomish County medical examiner’s office.

She didn’t say why Ford’s name had been removed.

The medical examiner’s office said the number of confirmed deaths stands at 30 as of Friday morning and that 28 have been identified.

Recovery crews continue to search for more bodies in the debris from the landslide that smothered the community of Oso 55 miles northeast of Seattle.